STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
Two weeks before Election Day...
(SOUNDBITE OF KNOCKING)
INSKEEP: ...We've been knocking on voters' doors.
Hi.
JOSEPH RAY: Hello there.
INSKEEP: Hi, sorry to bother you. We're reporters with NPR, National Public Radio. And...
RAY: Why is Steve Inskeep at my door?
INSKEEP: Steve - because it's election time.
Joseph Ray works in clinical research and says he's voting for Democrats. He's concerned about the loss of civility in public life.
RAY: Very negative, very cruel rhetoric that's come out of the White House for a long time and how desensitized we are to it.
INSKEEP: A block and a half away, we heard a different view from Ray's neighbor, Marti.
M-A-R-T-I, what's your last name?
MARTI COBB: Cobb (laughter) .
INSKEEP: Cobb, like the county?
COBB: Like the county.
INSKEEP: She's a therapist here in Cobb County, which is north of Atlanta. She says President Trump has done everything right, even the war in Iran.
COBB: I think that was the right move.
INSKEEP: Tell me why.
COBB: Well, because Americans are at the point where they are not very good at delayed gratification. So how much a tank of gas costs today is of critical importance to them. They really can't look ahead. Trump can.
INSKEEP: Those two neighbors offer us one way to think about voters in this fall's elections. Some want a big change now. Others want to stay the course just a little bit longer. We talked with more than 20 Georgia voters who were choosing a governor and a U.S. senator. We met them all on Sunday afternoon in and around Marietta.
(SOUNDBITE OF WATER TRICKLING)
INSKEEP: The center of town is a fountain in a square, where we met our local guide, Rahul Bali of public station WABE.
RAHUL BALI, BYLINE: The Harvest Festival was here yesterday, so costumes, contest, pet costume contest, pie eating contest, so kind of a staple of Georgia Falls.
(SOUNDBITE OF TRAIN HORN BLOWING)
INSKEEP: These railroad tracks go right through Marietta, as they have since before the Civil War. And over on this side of the tracks, it's very blue, voted heavily for Kamala Harris in 2024. On this side of the tracks in that direction is a precinct that's very red, voted hugely for Donald Trump. On the blue side of the tracks, we fell in with a dog walker on a trail.
AKHAILA MCKENNA: My name is Akhaila McKenna.
INSKEEP: She's 22, a biology student.
And what kind of dog we have here?
MCKENNA: This is Mogly. He's a Shih Tzu.
INSKEEP: A Shih Tzu?
MCKENNA: Mm-hmm.
INSKEEP: And is that a ribbon in his hair?
MCKENNA: It is. It is.
INSKEEP: Oh, my...
MCKENNA: I like to keep him festive.
INSKEEP: ...Gosh. Wow. Should we go down the ramp here?
MCKENNA: Yeah, let's do it.
INSKEEP: OK. Awesome. What concerns, if any, do you have about life in this community right now?
MCKENNA: I think my biggest concern is kind of wanting to keep it accessible to all. I think, right now, everything's rising. And unfortunately...
INSKEEP: You mean in terms of costs and so forth?
MCKENNA: Yeah. And...
INSKEEP: OK.
MCKENNA: Cost of living, and I think it's kind of excluding a lot of people that have been here from being able to stay, and it's kind of limiting who's able to come in. And I think that hurts our community remaining diverse or becoming more so.
INSKEEP: She identifies as mixed race.
You like that it's diverse?
MCKENNA: Oh, I love that it's diverse. I think it's important.
INSKEEP: She's voting for John Ossoff, the Democratic senator here.
MCKENNA: And it's important that we vote for other people's interests and not just ourselves.
INSKEEP: In this suburb, where most people can pay the bills, we found voters who were thinking beyond their own pocketbooks. That was true on the other side of the tracks, where Connie Buffington came to the door wearing an apron. She was cooking pork chops.
CONNIE BUFFINGTON: It's one of those what-do-I-have-in-the-freezer-that-I-need-to-find-some-way-to-put-in-the-oven nights.
INSKEEP: (Laughter).
BUFFINGTON: You know what I mean?
INSKEEP: It's a neighborhood of elegant, mostly older homes and a few like hers that were recently rebuilt.
BUFFINGTON: It's a great place to raise a family. It has exploded in terms of population, however, like so many other places close to Atlanta.
INSKEEP: Now, how do you feel about the direction of the country right now?
BUFFINGTON: Oh, I have great faith in our country. It's still the greatest country on Earth, still the greatest place in the world to come. I have lots of concerns about where we are right now as a country. There's a lot of cynicism in the younger generation. I voted for Trump twice and had great hopes that the last two years were going to be better for the American people. But I think the war in Iran has had a lot to do with some of our economic problems, but that's OK. We got to deal with that. And too many other administrations have either handled that wrong or swept it under the rug. My personal view is, I wish you'd just go over there and finish it. Just give it all it takes to finish it.
INSKEEP: I'm trying to put together your view of the last two years. Sound like you had - you said you had great hopes that it would be a lot better maybe than it has turned out to be?
BUFFINGTON: Well, we closed the border. That's a huge accomplishment. And I do think Trump has great economic sense. I just think that right now, because of the things we've had to do internationally to keep our country safe, the economy has not flourished like I hoped it would.
INSKEEP: Buffington is not impressed with Mike Collins, the Republican candidate for senator. But she will be voting for him, hoping for improvement over the next two years. Some voters in this suburb don't feel they can wait. On Sunday, the Cobb County Civic Center held a used book sale, and we caught Kay Allen walking out with a little cart.
What you get there?
KAY ALLEN: Oh, I got a whole bunch of audio books. I got novels. I got stuff for my kids. The whole basket - 20 bucks.
INSKEEP: It's a bargain, which she says she needs because she's kind of broke.
ALLEN: Everything is really expensive. I've had to cut back on my own food to make sure my kids have enough. I don't qualify for food stamps anymore because I, quote, "make too much money." And with this next wave of Medicaid cuts, my kids are probably going to lose their health insurance.
INSKEEP: Oh, wow.
ALLEN: And I can't afford to put them on my insurance, so I'm going to have to find some cheap, cut-rate insurance to get them on because they're both autistic and they need their medication.
INSKEEP: Oh, I'm sorry.
ALLEN: So...
INSKEEP: What do you do for a living?
ALLEN: I work for a health insurance company.
INSKEEP: And you can't afford health insurance?
ALLEN: I can't afford the health insurance.
INSKEEP: There's not an employee discount?
ALLEN: There is. It's not enough.
INSKEEP: Oh, goodness.
She will be voting for Democrats. Our interviews in Marietta, Georgia, did not turn up any voter who was sure to go for the other party, although some have thought about it. What seemed likely to matter more is who decides to turn out in greater numbers or stay home. The people who want to hold steady are those determined to make a change.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "GEORGIA ON MY MIND")
RAY CHARLES: (Singing) Georgia, Georgia. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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